Brain-derived neurotrophic factor induces neuron-like cellular differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood cells in vitro

Human umbilical cord blood was collected from full-term deliveries scheduled for cesarean section.Mononuclear cells were isolated,amplified and induced as mesenchymal stem cells.Isolated mesenchymal stem cells tested positive for the marker CD29,CD44 and CD105 and negative for typical hematopoietic and endothelial markers.Following treatment with neural induction medium containing brain-derived neurotrophic factor for 7 days,the adherent cells exhibited neuron-like cellular morphology.Immunohistochemical staining and reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the induced mesenchymal stem cells expressed the markers for neuron-specific enolase and neurofilament.The results demonstrated that human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into neuron-like cells induced by brain-derived neurotrophic factor in vitro.